


drabble collection, the second

by niallszayn



Series: drabble collections [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Ficlet Collection, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 15:45:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6913285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niallszayn/pseuds/niallszayn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a new place to collect all the shorter things i write</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. under my umbrella

**Author's Note:**

> i said i'd start a new drabble collection soon and here we are already! you know the drill, i'll add all the things i write but don't publish as their own work, drabbles, ficlets, word/number/sentence prompts i sometimes get on tumblr and the likes :)  
> this one is for zane who asked for "something that happens in the rain". hope this pleases you!

When Niall shuts his laptop and puts his books in his bag, the library is almost empty. It’s late but Niall’s been cramming in some last minute studying which just always works better in the library than at home. He smiles shyly at the only other person still left - Zayn, who he only knows because it’s always the two of them left last here. Zayn, who lives just a bit further down campus than him and has walked home with him a couple of times. Zayn, who’s beautiful, gentle, funny and smart. Zayn, who Niall has the most embarrassing crush on.

Zayn smiles back toothily and waves a little, Niall’s stomach flutters in response and he really hopes he doesn’t blush.

All of his happy feelings vanish when Niall reaches the door. It’s pouring outside, so heavily that Niall’s jacket will never be able to keep his laptop and books dry. Shit, and he didn’t bring an umbrella. Hopefully, he looks towards the umbrella stand and sees one of these old-fashioned large ones still left in there. Niall considers taking it - if he brings it back tomorrow, it’s not stealing, right? - but then remembers Zayn sitting back in there with his own laptop and books that will get wet if he goes outside in this weather. He has a few possibilities: either, it’s Zayn’s umbrella or it isn’t, in which case Zayn didn’t bring one either. Both ways, if Niall takes the umbrella, Zayn will get wet and that’s not something Niall wants to be the cause for. Which means that he can either wait until the rain stops or go back in there and ask Zayn if he’s up for sharing an umbrella. The thing sure looks big enough for two people.

Niall pulls up his weather up and groans when he sees that it’s supposed to be raining all night and morning, so waiting won’t do. He sighs and tries to fix his hair into something that he hopes looks messily attractive before he turns back around.

“Niall,” Zayn says, sounding surprised when Niall appears back at his desk. “Everything alright?”

“Uh, yeah,” Niall says awkwardly. “Just...did you bring an umbrella?”

Zayn frowns, “No…,” then groans. “Is it raining?”

“Proper pouring,” Niall sighs. “There’s one umbrella in the stand but I didn’t wanna take it without knowing you’d get home dry.”

Zayn smiles and looks down at his books. He’s so cute Niall wants to scream, and his eyelashes are long and thick enough to actually leave a shadow on his incredible cheekbones. “That’s very sweet, thank you. The umbrella isn’t yours either?”

“No, I figured since we’re the last ones here I’d just take it and drop it off here before my exam tomorrow. We can, um, share, if you want? I could wait until you’re done here.”

“I was just finishing up anyway,” Zayn says, gnawing on his lip. “You sure you want to wait? I’ll be five more minutes.”

“No problem,” Niall promises and grins at Zayn. “I’ll go to the bathroom and secure the umbrella, yeah?”

Zayn laughs. “Okay, I’ll meet you out front.”

Niall’s still trying to fight his nerves when Zayn comes out not more than five minutes later, trying to store his bag under his coat the same way Niall has tried to and they grin at each other.

“I don’t trust an umbrella to keep us both and our stuff dry,” Zayn says and then looks at the umbrella Niall’s holding, eyes widening. “Even that monster.”

Niall laughs. “It’s huge, innit? Guess we should thank whoever left it here they didn’t forget one of these tiny ones.”

“Definitely,” Zayn grins and steps closer. “Right, so…shall we brave the weather?”

“We shall,” Niall says. “Onwards, good sir?”

Zayn nudges him with his elbow and Niall just laughs, secretly pleased because he thinks this is the first time Zayn’s touched him in all the weeks they’ve been sharing glances across the library and shy smiles when they parted after walking home together at night. Niall’s not blind, is the thing, he knows that his crush isn’t entirely one-sided. He just needs to get his act together and do something, because Zayn doesn’t seem like he’s about to either.

Niall holds the umbrella with one hand, the other making sure his bag stays safely tucked underneath his jacket, and Zayn pushes open the door. The rain really is heavy, and loud, and Niall grabs the umbrella tighter. “Wow,” he gasps, “this thing is heavy.”

Zayn doesn’t hesitate, just loops his arm through Niall’s to keep them close together and grabs the umbrella just above Niall’s hand. Their hands touch and just for a moment, their eyes meet as well, but then they have to lower their heads and the umbrella to push through the icy wind and rain.

“I’m really not dressed for this,” Zayn complains after a few seconds. “My jeans are already soaked.”

Niall just grunts in response, feels the water slowly – too quickly – making its way through the fabric of his shoes and into his socks. Ugh.

They make it to the single crossroad between the library and the dorms quickly and mostly silent, too busy holding the huge umbrella mostly steady against the downpour and wind. They stop at the red light because this is the busiest street on campus, even at night, and neither of them can see past the brim of the umbrella.

“Don’t really fancy being run over tonight,” Niall says and Zayn smirks over at him.

“Not even with your exam tomorrow in mind?”

“Didn’t study for nothing,” Niall shrugs with a grin and then adds, “’sides, there’s too many things I haven’t done yet.” He doesn’t mean to, didn’t even think about that in particular when he said it, but his eyes drop down to Zayn’s mouth simply because he’s so damn close.

Zayn’s tongue peeks out for a second and Niall raises his eyes quickly, embarrassed, to find Zayn’s eyes fixed on his own lips. Their fronts are pressed together, Niall notices and Zayn leans in even closer. “Could get that out of the way now,” he whispers, and Niall doesn’t even hesitate because Zayn’s already right _there_ so he surges forward.

Their front teeth knock because they’re both moving at the same time, but Zayn tilts his head and adjusts the slightest bit, and suddenly everything fits perfect. Zayn’s lips are cold from the wind but warming up under Niall’s and he lets go of the umbrella to cradle Niall’s jaw, pressing closer. Niall forgets all about his wet feet, wants to sink into Zayn more than he can while holding the umbrella and his bag under his jacket, they’re sort of leaning against each other now when Niall really, really wants to wrap his arms around Zayn and hold him close. Niall traces Zayn’s bottom lip with the tip of his tongue and tastes coffee, hums happily when Zayn opens up.

There’s a gust of wind and a jerk on Niall’s arm, and within a second they’re drenched in ice cold water.

“Fuck,” Zayn yelps and jerks back, looks at the umbrella in Niall’s hand that the wind has completely upended.

Niall lets out a startled laugh that turns into a cry when the water starts running down his neck and under his collar. “Shit, come on, my dorm is right over there!”

Zayn helps him with the umbrella that just won’t fold over again and then they run, almost holding hands on the umbrella, heads down against the rain – not that it helps. The roof that covers the entrance to Niall’s dorm isn’t nearly big enough to provide protection when they reach it so Niall lets go of Zayn’s hand (the umbrella) to fumble his keys into the lock and let them in.

“Jesus Christ,” he says once they’re inside and turns to face Zayn, who’s dripping onto the floor but somehow still manages to look absolutely gorgeous. Niall just stares for a moment and Zayn stares right back, then grins a little sheepishly.

“Um, I guess I should probably go? It’s not that far to my building.”

“Nonsense,” Niall says. “You can’t go out in that weather without an umbrella, you’re coming up with me.”

Zayn licks his lips and Niall’s eyes immediately zero in on them. “What kind of girl do you take me for?”

That startles a laugh out of Niall. “One who doesn’t want to freeze to death. Come on.”

He leads Zayn upstairs and into his room, leaves the umbrella outside to hopefully fix tomorrow. He’s imagined many scenarios where he asks Zayn up to his room, but this certainly wasn’t one of them – not that he’s complaining.

Quickly, he tries to shake it off and heads towards his drawer to find Zayn something dry and warm to put on. “We need to get out of those wet clothes –“

“Niall,” Zayn interrupts, and he’s closer than Niall expected when he turns around. His eyes are dark and he’s taken off his jacket and boots already, bag safe and dry on the other side of the room. His t-shirt is tight and wet, his hair is dripping and he’s really fucking hot. Niall shivers when Zayn reaches out and pushes the jacket off his shoulders. “I know I joked about it downstairs, but…if you want, like. I’ve been thinking about you for weeks.”

“Christ,” Niall breathes and watches as Zayn’s eyes drop to his mouth. “Me, too.”

Niall’s jacket drops to the ground with a wet thud and he lifts his arms to wrap them around Zayn’s neck, kisses him slow and deep. Zayn’s hands wander from his back to his waist and finally to the button of his jeans, pausing there.

“Yeah?” Zayn asks quietly and Niall smoothes his hand through Zayn’s hair, smiles softly.

“Yeah.”

“And tomorrow,” Zayn mumbles, licking the drops of water off Niall’s neck and leaving only heat behind, “after your exam, I’ll take you out on a proper date.”

“Okay,” Niall says, distracted by trying to wrestle off his shoes and Zayn’s shirt at the same time. He’s not cold anymore, the exam tomorrow is the last thing on his mind and he’s pretty sure tonight is gonna be the best night of his life yet.


	2. tell your friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uni au?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no idea what this is haha, a mixture of a conversation i had with a friend about same sex dorms and cliché high school/uni movies? i'm supposed to be studying........  
> also, zayn still wears his lakers jersey 3 years later, so. he's tiny.

“This is so bloody unfair,” Louis complains as soon as the elevator door closes and Niall shifts closer to Zayn.

“What is?” Zayn asks innocently but very obviously slides his hand into the back pocket of Niall’s jeans.

Liam scowls. “The fact that Niall gets to bring his boyfriend but we can’t bring our girlfriends to the dorm after 10pm, maybe?”

“Not my fault the school’s so heteronormative,” Niall shrugs cheerfully. “Usually I’d hate that but in this case…”

“The whole rule is really outdated,” Louis gripes. “Do they think all their athletes would suddenly forget all about sports and their teams if their girlfriends were allowed to sleep over?”

“And they have to have two athlete’s dorms, wouldn’t it be easier to just have mixed dorms?”

“Really would love to have a discussion about equality right now,” Niall says and looks at the door sliding open, “but I have more important things to do with my boyfriend, in my room.”

“Lucky bastard,” Liam mutters and Louis calls after them, “Really hope no one at the doors ever figures out you’re not just platonic bros!”

“Don’t you dare!” Zayn calls back but doesn’t bother to slow down on his way to Niall’s room, and neither does Niall. They know Louis would never do that to them.

Niall unlocks his door and pushes Zayn in before pushing it closed again behind them.

“We really got lucky,” Zayn says as he kicks off his shoes. “Imagine if they weren’t this ignorant and we’d have to kick Harry out of our room every time you came over.”

“I just hope I can get a single again next year,” Niall nods. “Or we’ll have the roommate problem either way.”

“Singles are more common here than in the other dorms,” Zayn shrugs. “So I wouldn’t worry too much. And just in case, we should make use of this room as long as you have it.”

He pushes Niall up against the wall and presses soft kisses to his jaw and down his neck. Niall sighs contently and tilts his head back to give Zayn better access, hands twisting in the fabric of Zayn’s shirt.

“Will you wear my jersey for the game on Saturday?” Niall’s voice is soft, careful, and Zayn stills.

They’ve been together for a while and their relationship isn’t a secret, but Zayn still recognises this as another step further. The thought of walking around campus with Niall’s jersey, his last name in big bold letters on the back, suddenly makes him shudder in delight. Everyone will know he’s Niall’s.

“Yes,” he says and kisses Niall’s lips quickly. “Yeah, absolutely.”

A grin spreads across Niall’s face and he looks like the actual sun just before he pulls Zayn in for more kisses by the back of his neck.

 

Niall’s team wins on Saturday and he pulls away from his celebrating teammates to run to the sidelines where Zayn’s waiting, Niall’s jersey just the slightest bit too big on him. Niall’s hair is sweaty between his fingers when Zayn slides his hand into it but his smile is as bright as always.

“Well done, you,” Zayn says, and Niall pulls him in, presses his face into Zayn’s neck, sweat be damned.

“I love you,” he says and Zayn kisses him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you should head on over to the [1D Break Exchange](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/1DBreakFicExchange/works) and check out the works already posted, there' a lot of ziall this time around :)) (can you figure out which one is mine? haha)


	3. the mistletoe plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> niall has a smooth plan for christmas morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've had some trouble writing lately (both because i had no time and because i just didn't like anything i started) but i decided to fight through that for a little christmas thing to thank you all for reading my stuff, i appreciate it more than i can say ♥ merry christmas to everyone who celebrates!!

When Niall wakes up on Christmas morning, Zayn is still asleep, curled away from him and breathing evenly. He takes a moment to take in the smooth expanse of skin of his bare back and presses a soft kiss to Zayn’s tattooed shoulder. 

He gets up as quietly as possible, making sure not to wake his sleeping boyfriend, and taps down to the kitchen to get started on breakfast. He goes all out, cooks eggs and even sacrifices their last oranges to make some fresh orange juice, then sets the table with just as much care. They’ve had the other boys over a few weeks ago to bake cookies and Niall sets the least inappropriately decorated ones out on a table, then gets the coffee started.

He can hear Zayn moving upstairs over the gurgling coffee maker and hurriedly grabs a book from the kitchen counter, sprinting over to the doorway to lean against it and seem relaxed and immersed in his book by the time Zayn makes it downstairs for the last part of his Christmas morning plan.

Niall can barely see past his book without giving himself away, but he still sees that Zayn has put on a hoodie and is padding down the stairs on socked feet, sleepily rubbing his eyes. He looks adorable and soft and Niall can’t wait.

“Morning, love,” he says, trying to sound distracted.

Zayn doesn’t stop, just mumbles, “Babe, your book is upside down.”

Niall lets out a startled laugh and lowers the book to see that it is, in fact, upside down. “There goes my plan,” he grins. “Anyway, rules are rules, there’s a mistletoe above my head.”

“I know,” Zayn says from the middle of the kitchen. “You made breakfast?”

Niall stares. “Zayn?! Mistletoe? Your boyfriend underneath it wearing an ugly Christmas jumper?”

Zayn just hums and reaches for the coffee pot.

“I made you breakfast!” Niall pouts. “I deserve a kiss under the mistletoe for that.”

Finally, Zayn turns around with a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You don’t need mistletoe for me to kiss you, you know that, right?”

“Right now it seems like not even that is working!”

“Hm,” Zayn hums and takes a step towards Niall. “Well, I suppose since it’s the rules...and you made me breakfast…”

As soon as he’s close enough, Niall grabs him by the strings of his hoodie and pulls him in. The kiss is warm and soft, the perfect Christmas morning kiss, and Niall smiles against Zayn’s lips. “You’re forgiven.”

“You know I was just messing around, yeah?” Zayn whispers. “You were holding your book upside down. So smooth.”

Niall hits his chest with one hand but keeps the other curled into the fabric of his hoodie, keeping him close. “You loved it.”

Zayn slips both hands from Niall’s hips around his back to pull him in even closer. “I love  _ you _ . But I’m so gonna tell the entire family later.”


	4. even if I don’t understand, you can talk to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "niall has a second hand book shop and zayn likes to sit down on the floor behind the bookshelves and read the classics; it's dusty and quiet and the light always shines through in soft yellow and zayn can't stop himself from looking at the way it lights up niall's hair, or how when he smiles his eyes look even more blue"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i shouldn't have started a new collection should i...i don't know why but i've had huge trouble writing for the longest time now so im trying to relearn it by chipping away at old prompts i got? seren, this one is for you ♥ sorry if it sucks!!  
> title is from fire away by niall simply because i haven't listened to anything but his album for the past week

Zayn knows that a book shop isn’t a library and that he usually has to buy a book to read it, and he knows that the owner of the shop knows this too, but they have a sort of agreement. That is, Zayn knows that Niall knows he's here, and he's never sent him away. He's been coming to Niall's old second hand book shop for a few months now, long enough to know the owner and his three employees by name, and to have found the perfect corner to sit down on the floor behind the bookshelves and read. He knows that _Twice Told Tales_ belonged to Niall's grandfather who founded it over 50 years ago and that Niall has been helping out since he was a child and finally took over from his grandfather after he finished university. He knows Niall is single and not very eager to be set up by his friends - not that it matters to Zayn or that he listened when Niall and Louis, one of his employees, had a discussion about the topic.

Niall probably knows less about Zayn because so far, Zayn has preferred to listen instead of talking, and they haven't had that many actual conversations in the first place. In a way, Niall still knows more about Zayn than anyone else, because the one thing he knows is that Zayn feels like he's suffocating at his boring office job and that he's now trying to get an English degree from evening school. Which is why he sits behind the bookshelves at _Twice Told Tale_ every evening after work and before his classes and sometimes on the weekends, reading the classics. Niall knows that Zayn only studied business to make his parents proud and that he did it in Ireland and stayed afterwards so they wouldn't see how much he hates it. He's never told anyone else that, but there's something about the dusty old bookshop that made him open up to Niall on his first visit where Niall talked to him.

 

Zayn had been coming to the shop for over a week when the blond guy who was always there approached him while he was browsing the shelves for his next read. “Hey, mate, can I help you?” he asked and startled Zayn. “It's just, you've been coming in for a while but never actually buy anything, are you looking for something specific?”

Zayn had looked into his very blue eyes, at a loss for words, and then just broken down and told him everything. Niall had listened attentively, nodding and humming at the right parts, and he'd patted Zayn's shoulder comfortingly when he was done. Then he'd made them both tea and offered Zayn to sit down in one of the old battered armchairs in the back of the shop, underneath the back window. He hadn't offered Zayn to keep reading his books for free but he hadn't forbidden it either.

 

Zayn keeps coming back and Niall greets him with a sunny smile every time. Sometimes Zayn buys a book as some sort of symbolic thank you, and sometimes Niall offers him a cup of tea, but they don't really talk to each other.

The days have been getting longer since Zayn first came here and the light that shines in through the dusty display window and through the rows of bookshelves colours everything a soft yellow that turns into a warm gold when the sun goes down. The dust particles in the air look like tiny fairies dancing for Zayn and the dark hardwood floor is warm underneath his hands. He should leave for his class soon, but Zayn's busy looking through a gap between the books to where he can see Niall inspecting books by the register. It's quiet in the shop and Niall is humming softly, concentrating on his work with a smile on his face. The sunlight is bathing him in gold and it lights up his hair, makes it look like a halo. He's beautiful and Zayn kind of wants to take a picture but knows that no camera would be able to capture this. So he just looks.

He has to run to get to school in time, but the image of Niall so happy and beautiful in his book shop stays with him all night.

~

Time drags for Zayn during the weeks, with work, classes and no social life to speak of in a country that's still not entirely his. The couple of hours he spends inside _Twice Told Tales_ are the best part of his week, Niall's smile lights up his evenings even as autumn turns to winter and Dublin becomes cold and dark, and the weekends rush by too quickly. The workload of his classes is picking up but it's worth it because it means an end is in sight.

And then, one dreary night in late November, when Zayn’s hair is still damp from the thick fog outside, Niall brings him tea again and sits down in the armchair next to him before Zayn can offer him his usual smile and thank you.

“Shite weather, innit?” he says, and Zayn looks at him for too long before he mumbles a, “yeah.” Niall’s never really initiated a conversation with him, and it throws him off a little bit.

“Thought you might need something to warm you up,” Niall says with a nod to the tea. “But tell me to piss off if I’m bothering you.”

Zayn lets out a startled laugh. “If anyone had a right to “bother me”, it’d be you. After all, I’m the one always in here without contributing to your business.”

“Eh, you’re still one of my most loyal customers,” Niall shrugs. “It’s not like I’m fighting them off with sticks, and it’s nice to see someone liking my shop. Zayn, right?”

“Yeah,” Zayn says and it comes out slightly surprised. He didn’t know Niall knew his name, too.

“Sorry,” Niall says sheepishly. “Got that from your credit card.”

Zayn laughs again. “It’s alright, I learned your name from your employees shouting it across the shop.”

“Ah, yeah,” Niall sighs, but there’s a laugh in his voice. “You’ve probably heard a lot from them lot. They’re more my friends that occasionally help out and none of them are, well, shy of opinions.”

Zayn thinks of a couple weeks ago when the tall one, Harry, telling Niall he’d really set him up on a blind date this time if he didn’t “get his shit on”, of Liam who apparently has a lot of embarrassing childhood stories to remind Niall of, and of Louis who has recently taken to urgently whisper at Niall to “do something about it”, whatever “it” is. “I’ve heard a few things,” he admits with a grin.

“Well, it’s only fair if you tell me something about yourself in return, then.”

It becomes a routine for them, chatting for at least as long as it takes them to empty their cups of tea - and if Zayn drinks a bit more slowly than usual, well, no one has to know. Then Zayn leaves for Christmas and Niall closes the shop over the holidays.

~

It’s a good time at home even though they don’t really celebrate Christmas as big as all their neighbours do, and Zayn knows his family loves him as much as he loves them, but he’s not gonna tell them about his English degree until he’s actually got it in his pocket. He’s not scared of them disapproving any longer, not like he was when he first started university, but May isn’t long to go anymore and he wants it to be a surprise.

He also can’t stop thinking about Niall. It’s not really surprising considering how much Zayn already thinks about him when they see each other almost every day, and now that they’re something like friends. But it also makes him acutely aware of the fact that being Niall’s friend is not what he wants to do.

~

It's three weeks until Zayn’s back in Dublin and when he walks into _Twice Told Tales_ for the first time in as long, Niall's hair is brown. He's seen the blonde grow out but that's happened before and Niall has always dyed it again. Not this time.

Niall laughs when he sees his face and says, “It's the hair, right? Throws people off.”

Zayn nods, then shakes his head. “Maybe, but I like it. Suits you.”

“It's my natural colour, so I'd hope it would,” Niall grins. “I'm glad you're back, tea’s waiting.”

~

In many ways, it feels like Zayn never left, he’s still at the bookshop almost every day for a quick chat over their tea and to read or reread whatever he needs for his final essays. As soon as he starts writing his thesis, though, Zayn often stays until closing on the days he doesn’t have classes. Niall doesn’t comment on it, but Louis - who’s, like, ridiculously protective of Niall as Zayn has learned by now - often gives him these sideway glances when he comes in and Zayn is there once again. He doesn’t say anything either though, hasn’t really spoken to Zayn at all even though, if he’s honest, Zayn thinks Louis is dead cool and they could be good friends. But it’s probably better to keep his distance because if he blows it with Niall he’ll certainly blow it with his friends too. And so far, Zayn hasn’t exactly made a good figure or even taken an active role to get closer to Niall, all he does is stare and pine from a distance. With a heavy sigh, Zayn takes his eyes off Niall who looks half asleep sitting by the cash register, soft and warm and everything Zayn wants, and goes back to the thesis on his laptop.

~

Most Saturdays, Zayn does his shopping in the morning and then leaves his lonely flat to set up station in Niall’s bookshop and work on his thesis. It’s cosy there and the background noise of Niall puttering about or helping out the occasional customer helps him concentrate far better than his quiet one room flat. To make up for it, he regularly stocks up Niall’s tea or brings them lunch from his morning shop, and Niall thanks him enthusiastically every time as if it wasn’t the absolute least he could do. Their shared lunches are actually Zayn’s favourite part of every week, and he starts making sure he brings something different each time.

On a Saturday in late March, Zayn’s been staring blankly ahead for too long, unwilling and unable to form another coherent sentence, when Niall suddenly stands right in front of him, looking frazzled. His hair’s sticking in every direction and he keeps pulling on the hem of his white t-shirt (which has a streak of dirt right down the front, and a dirty handprint on his right pec) and wiping his hands on his jeans. Alarmed, Zayn sits up.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Sorry,” Niall says, “I didn’t mean to bother you, I wasn’t even gonna ask you but...none of the boys can come in today and I completely forgot to get started on the inventory earlier but I need to get it done this weekend so I can fill out all the papers for the tax office-”

“Do you need help?” Zayn interrupts. He gestures to his laptop, “it’s not like I’m getting anywhere with this anyway.”

“Would you? God, I feel bad for even asking you…”

“Niall,” Zayn says, standing up and putting a hand on Niall’s arm to stop him from fidgeting even more, “really, it’s no bother at all.”

“Yeah?” Niall’s voice sounds smaller now and already less stressed when he gives Zayn a smile. “That’s really nice of you, I appreciate it.”

Zayn smiles back and marvels at the pink starting to dust Niall’s cheeks when he suddenly realises that he’s a) still holding Niall’s arm and b) standing awfully close to the other man, so he quickly lets go and steps sideways.

“Anyway,” he coughs a little awkwardly, “where’s the fire?”

“The fire” is in the back room in the form of a whole storage rack of boxes filled with books that Niall needs to categorise and register so he can calculate how much his shop including the books is worth.

“Basically,” Niall explains, “we have to unpack all these boxes, scan the books, put them back in the boxes and get those back on the shelves. If we had more time we could even restock what’s needed inside, but I think I may have ruined that with my lack of planning.”

“Well, do you know what’s needed in the front?”

“I made a list,” Niall says and points to a sheet of paper tacked against the wall by the door. “But really, you don’t have to bother with that.”

Zayn rolls his eyes playfully and goes to read over the list, tries to memorise the titles. “Right,” he says. “So we’ll put an empty box here and we’ll fill it with the books that go into the shop. What’s your system back here?”

“They’re sorted by genre,” Niall shrugs, “that’s how it’s always been done. I’ve been meaning to organise things better so I don’t have to dig through five different boxes and make a mess to find a book, but...you know how it is. Never really found the time.”

Zayn looks around the room and wants to start suggesting unboxing the books and putting them on shelves but then starts  wondering if you’d have to protect them some way so he says, “I think that’s a problem for another day if we wanna get this done this weekend, like.”

“Christ, I didn’t mean for you to come in tomorrow as well,” Niall looks stressed again, “You’re already doing more than I could ask.”

“Hey, relax,” Zayn says and very badly wants to give him a hug, “let’s see how far we get today, yeah? And then we can talk about tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Niall sighs. “Thank you, Zayn.”

Very quickly, Zayn understands why Niall’s shirt is so dirty - almost every box is covered in dust that immediately sticks to his hands and transfers to his face and clothes when he wipes at them. It’s hard work, lifting the heavy boxes back and forth, but it’s also fun because the books they discover give them plenty of material to start conversations that end up somewhere entirely different and eventually, once Niall locks the front door to the shop and turns the sign to “CLOSED” at 4pm so they don’t have to listen for the little bell above the door, they put on the radio and start singing along. Zayn is doing a silly shimmy to the music as he’s scanning books and stacking them in their new boxes and when he looks up, he finds Niall looking at him that Zayn hopes is more fond than weirded out. He thinks it might be so he keeps going and grins at Niall, who throws his head back and laughs. It’s worth it for that alone.

The thing is, sometimes Zayn wonders if Niall looks at him as often as he looks at Niall, or if it’s just his imagination making him think he keeps catching Niall already looking at him. And it’s not like it’s been just Zayn trying to implement routines and spend more time with each other. He’s pretty sure that today, at least, he’s not imagining how much Niall keeps looking up at him from his work.

It makes Zayn’s blood sing, and every time he catches Niall’s gaze, he tries to hold it for a few moments before looking down quickly like he usually does. He hasn’t felt this, the butterflies, the excitement and pull in his gut every time he finds Niall looking back, since school and he wants to keep feeling it. So he keeps looking.

And thinking. He needs to make a move, this is his chance. They’re alone, the shop is closed, and, judging by the colour of his face, Niall is clearly just as affected by the damn tension between them as Zayn is. It’s gone quiet between them except for the music as Zayn tries to work up the courage to do something, _say_ something. “Hey, Niall, would you want to grab dinner with me sometime? Go out with me? Do you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you?” But it’s hard, and Zayn doesn’t say anything.

He turns around to lift a box down from its shelf when Niall suddenly says “Zayn?” from way closer than he was a few seconds ago when Zayn looked last. He nearly drops the box and secures it back on the shelf before he turns around, and.

Niall is right there. He’s close enough that Zayn can feel his warmth, could count his freckles or his eyelashes.

“Oh,” Zayn breathes and Niall smiles a very small smile, just one corner of his mouth lifting, and now that mouth has got Zayn’s attention.

“Tell me if I’ve got this wrong,” the mouth whispers and Zayn shakes his head, tears his eyes away and up to Niall’s blue, blue own ones.

Zayn lifts a hand to tug gently on the hem of Niall’s shirt, stepping even closer. “You’ve got it very, _very_ right.”

Niall’s hands are on the sides of his face then, rough with callouses but so gentle, and that’s his smile pressed against Zayn’s.

“Louis’ gonna freak out,” Niall mumbles dazedly when he pulls back and Zayn narrows his eyes, confused.

“What?” he asks.

“Ah,” Niall says, his fingers discovering every inch of Zayn’s face, his ears, curling in his hair. “Louis’ been pushing me for ages to do something about my embarrassing crush on you. All the boys, really. You’ll like them.”

“Ages, huh?” Zayn teases, trying not to lean into Niall’s touch like a cat too much.

“Shut it,” Niall laughs quietly. Zayn moves his hand under Niall’s shirt and Niall’s eyes fall closed.

“I came back for you more than for the books,” Zayn admits into the inches of space between them and has to go cross-eyed to see Niall’s answering smile to that before there’s no space left.

Ireland will never feel cold and lonely to Zayn again.

 


	5. (you smiled back at me, and) your face lit up the sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> niall and zayn are astronauts on a mission in space. if only niall's crush wouldn't get in the way of things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me @ myself: stop naming everything after niall's songs!!  
> happy (late) birthday katelyn!!! ♥

It’s fine, Niall tells himself while he can’t seem to tear his eyes away from Zayn’s face that’s illuminated by the screens in front of him. It’s just a little crush, nothing he can’t deal with.

He’s been telling himself that since he and Zayn made it into the same astronaut training program five years ago, and now they’re both stationed on the ISS so really, he  _ can  _ deal with it. It’s just that the whole thing is infinitely harder to deal with when Niall can’t go home after a day at work and distract himself enough to get Zayn out of his head. 

There's only four other people on the space station and Niall realises he can't keep following Shane around every time he has a spare minute if he doesn't want to risk being clocked around the head by his friend and mentor. Commander Whitson still intimidates him to no end so he'd rather not spend his free time alone with her, and Yaroslav and Galina are nice (their English is way better than Niall's Russian too) but seem to prefer sticking to each other in their time off. 

Not that they have much of that, free time, here on the ISS. The 12 hour workday is never  _ easy _ , and the daily two hours dedicated to working out to maintain their muscles are taking their toll too. But still, even if Niall spends eight hours strapped into his “bed”, there's a couple hours every day that he has to spend around someone else without an assigned task. And if that happens to be Zayn, Niall often becomes a person that he's embarrassed for, someone who laughs at every single joke Zayn makes, stumbles over his words sometimes and stares for too long. It's pathetic, actually, and only avoidable if he limits the amount of time he spends with Zayn. So that's what he's been trying to do ever since they got up here, but it's impossible whenever the two of them have to work on a project together, which isn't a rarity since they're the only two ESA astronauts on board. 

So, yes. That's what Niall's supposed to be doing right now - working on a project with Zayn. It's important work too, they're growing protein crystals to discover their structure - essential for the development of any medicine that's supposed to have an influence on a protein or enzyme. Hopefully one day their research will help with finding a cure for cancer. 

Niall shakes his head and focuses on his X-ray crystallography. He's a biotechnologist and astronaut, for fuck’s sake, and he's gonna do his job even with the world’s most beautiful man next to him. 

“Right,” Zayn suddenly says next to him and Niall very nearly startles. “I've put in all of my findings, if you want you can cross check them with yours once you're done? And then we can get deeper tomorrow.”

“Sure, yeah,” Niall says. “You done for today?”

“Need to check on my greenhouse,” Zayn shrugs with a half-smile. “Come by later if you want?”

“‘Course,” Niall says before he can really think, and then Zayn floats away already. 

Well, Niall thinks, he really does want to see what Zayn’s been up to with his soil and seeds, so he picks up the pace a little bit until he's reached his set goal for today. He'll do the cross check later, doesn't want to miss Zayn and his greenhouse. Zayn's a biologist with his whole heart, and Niall has always loved seeing him work. 

He's lucky and Zayn's still there working, gingerly watering the dark soil in what looks like a big pink box. He's using a complicated contraption to avoid the little water bubbles flying around the station uncontrollably, and the orange zinnias right next to him are still in bloom over five years after Scott Kelly first managed to sustain them on the ISS. 

“Hey,” Niall announces himself, “still not disappointing as official ISS gardener?”

Zayn laughs. “Doing my best, I don't wanna be the one who lets those flowers die,” he says, then waves Niall closer. “Look at this!”

His voice sounds awed and Niall curiously moves closer, accidentally bumps into Zayn's shoulder with his own. The greenhouse is filled with green tomato plants, lit by blue and red light because its wavelengths benefit the plant growth. “Look,” Zayn repeats, pointing somewhere in the middle of the plant in front of them, and there - Niall spots a tiny little green fruit. He gasps, and Zayn turns to him with a grin so wide it could probably power the sun. 

“Isn't it beautiful? I mean, it's just a tomato, but Niall! It's the first edible fruit grown entirely in space!”

“You did it!” Niall says, and then he's suddenly hugging Zayn, who wraps his arms tightly around him and holds on. 

“I did it,” he murmurs, and Niall's heart fucking  _ squeezes _ in his chest. 

“Um,” he says and pulls back, because - too much Zayn, too many emotions, too much he can't deal with right now. “Congratulations, Zayn. I knew you could do it.”

“Thank you,” Zayn says, smiling bashfully. “I need to report this, but...would you stay? If you're free, that is. I thought we could talk.”

“Yeah, sure,” Niall says, trying not to sound as nervous as he feels. “Actually, is it cool if I do the cross check while you finish up here and then I'll be back?”

Zayn nods. “Alright, yeah. See you later.”

With a little wave, Niall turns himself around and makes his way back to his work station, forcing his mind to stay only on his measurements and nothing else. What could Zayn want to talk about? 

Once he’s done, he floats back towards Zayn, trying to keep his thoughts quiet. Zayn has known him for years, but can he tell he’s been acting differently? Or worse, why?

When he gets there, Zayn’s just closing the flap and turning the fans back on to minimise the danger of moulding. 

“Hey,” he says when he looks up and spots Niall. “I wasn’t sure you’d be coming back.”

“What?” Niall asks, dumbfounded.

“Dunno,” Zayn says. “I feel like...like you’ve been avoiding me.”

Niall laughs, and it sounds fake to his own ears. “What are you on about? The station’s way too small to avoid anyone.”

“And yet you’ve been trying your best.”

Okay. So apparently, they’re doing this now.

“I...you- I haven’t,” Niall tries but Zayn just gives him a Look that makes the blood rush to Niall’s face despite the fact that he sometimes wakes up and his body doesn’t know which direction is up and down.

“Come on, Niall, we’ve known each other for more than five years now. What’s wrong? Did I do something to upset you?”

“No!” Niall blurts out, shocked by the mere idea this could be Zayn’s fault. “You haven’t done anything! It’s just me, it’s all me.”

Zayn frowns and pulls himself closer by one of the handles on the wall. “What is? What’s you?”

Niall sighs, his head feels so hot now he’s probably glowing red. “Just...forget about it, yeah? It’s dumb, and it doesn’t matter.”

“Hey.” Zayn’s fingers are warm and soft around Niall’s wrist as he squeezes it lightly, and Niall swallows, looks down to their hand and back up to Zayn’s face again. “You’re one of the smartest people I know, and whatever it is, I promise you it matters to  _ me _ . You can tell me what’s going on.”

“No,” Niall whispers. “Because it’ll make things awkward and there’s no way we can avoid each other here for over a month, like you pointed out.”

It’s silent for a long time and Niall stares at a point somewhere to Zayn’s right, he can’t look him in the eyes right now. Zayn’s hand remains on Niall’s wrist, a steady pressure against his rabbiting pulse.

“Niall,” Zayn says, intensely, and then his hand leaves Niall’s wrist and moves to cradle his face again. Niall’s eyes snap over to Zayn’s face. What…? “I could be getting this totally wrong but...what would you say if I asked you if I could kiss you right now?”

For a moment, Niall feels like he's swallowed his own tongue. “Um. I...I'd ask you if it was because you wanted to or because you feel sorry for your stupid colleague who's gone and gotten a crush on you.”

Zayn smiles. “I really, really want to. Have wanted to for some time, actually.”

“Yeah?” Niall breathes and very carefully moves his finger over Zayn's collarbone and the collar of his t-shirt. “That's...pretty great. I just...are you sure we should do this, y’know, here? We could wait until we're back on earth and go on a date first, or…”

Zayn's hand has moved from his cheek, and he cups the back of Niall's neck now. “Do you  _ want _ to wait?”

Niall swallows, looks from Zayn's earnest eyes to his mouth, lips a little chapped but oh so kissable, and shakes his head. “No.”

And when Zayn finally kisses him, Niall feels even more weightless than the nearly equal downward and forward forces on the ISS could ever make him feel. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i really hope i didn't mess up the science bits too badly...i find it endlessly fascinating but have no talent at all :( niall would never qualify as an astronaut because of his bad joints and his shortsightedness but eh!! ignoring that for the fic :)  
> so far, tomatoes haven't been grown on the ISS (salad has) because the tricky thing is that they have to bloom to grow fruit. scott kelly's zinnias were a great first step towards that in early 2016 so hopefully it won't take as long to get to the tomatoes as in this fic! i set it a little in the future because the youngest ever astronaut in space was almost 26, so zayn and niall are closer to 30.  
> idk if that last sentence is weird or makes sense to everyone but here's a little explanation: technically, the gravitational pull on the ISS is almost as strong as on earth, but since the ISS is orbiting earth in constant free fall, the astronauts on it are falling toward Earth and moving forward at about the same speed. they're not being pulled in one direction (ha), which is why they experience weightlessness and float.


	6. i'll take your hand and your heart wherever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> niall is supposed to babysit theo for the day and night, but he gets some unexpected help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still here trying to rewrite/finish some older things, and i have an all time weakness for ziall with kids so...have 4k of it :D  
> title is from how it's done by maren morris

Niall doesn’t deserve this. He’s being such a nice person, taking Theo off his brother’s and his wife’s hands so the trip to London feels like an actual holiday to them. He’d offered it, knowing Greg and Denise would appreciate some alone time, since he has a pretty quiet week at uni anyway. Theo’s four years old now and old enough to be quiet when Niall sneaks him into his dorm, which is why Niall even has him for a night. Officially, it’s so Greg and Denise can see a show and don’t have to worry about picking Theo up late, and Niall doesn’t want to know anything else. He knows that Theo doesn’t have his own hotel room.

Anyway, he's being selfless, and this is how Theo repays him. By completely ignoring him for some kid with a skateboard. Niall's taken his nephew to the park on campus to play footie because the weather's nice and warm, but Theo has long since ditched him. 

And okay, maybe Zayn isn’t just some kid with a skateboard but him and Niall haven’t been dating for nearly long enough to take care of a child together, which is why Niall only told him he’d be busy today. It’s just bad luck they ran into each other at the park and Theo apparently thinks skating is way cooler than football.

Niall watches as Theo admires Zayn’s tricks and then as Zayn puts Theo on his board and helps him skate a few metres. He’s pissed off but also helplessly endeared at seeing his boyfriend of six weeks (6 weeks!! That’s, like, at least 100 weeks before either of them should even start thinking about children) taking care of his nephew. He also suspects his own face looks a lot like Theo’s when he’s looking at Zayn. 

Still, it's not what he imagined the day would you like. He's happier than he thought he'd be to see Zayn again, considering they've spent yesterday together, but apparently they're in that disgusting phase of a relationship where they want to spend every minute together. Niall usually hates that phase when other people are in it, but it's surprisingly great when he's involved. Although, maybe it's just him, Zayn certainly doesn't seem as interested in Niall as in his nephew right now. 

“I don't know what's worse,” he grumps. “My boyfriend stealing my nephew from me or my nephew stealing my boyfriend.”

Zayn laughs at that and Theo lifts his head in interest. “Are you boyfriends?” he asks and Zayn throws Niall a worried glance but Niall just shrugs. He doesn't think Denise and Greg would want him to keep his sexual orientation a secret from Theo. 

“Yeah,” he says. “Like your mam and da.”

“Do you kiss, too?”

Zayn giggles at that, endeared by the little boy, and Niall nods. “We do. When you're not around to steal him from me.”

“Ew,” Theo makes and shudders exaggeratedly. “Kissing is yucky.”

Niall looks at Zayn when he says, “I don't think so.”

Zayn grins in a way that makes Niall feel hot and cold and more things completely inappropriate for when his nephew’s around, and takes two steps until he's close enough to pull Niall into a kiss. 

“Ew,” Theo says again but Niall just grins against Zayn's lips and wraps his arms around his neck. 

“That's better,” he says when Zayn pulls back but then Theo calls for Zayn loudly. 

“I wanna skate!” he yells. “Skate, Zayn, skate.”

Niall sighs and pushes Zayn away lightly. “Go, he likes you better than me now.”

“It's the novelty,” Zayn promises and Niall settles down for another half hour of watching Theo’s skating lesson. He texts a few friends and tries to sneakily take pictures of Zayn and Theo before the little boy has enough of the sport. He's managed to skate a few meters while clinging to Zayn's hands and is ecstatic about it, but obviously tired out. Niall humours him and falls back into the grass when Theo jumps on him, lets the little boy sit on his stomach while he tells Niall all the things he's seen with his own eyes. This time it's Zayn who watches fondly from the side. He's strapping his skateboard to his backpack and Niall suddenly hopes this means he'll stay with them for a bit longer instead of spending his day skating. 

“So I take it you don't want to play footie anymore?” Niall asks once Theo’s finished his story of how he almost managed to skate by himself. “Enough exercise for today, hm?”

Theo thinks about that for a while, then shakes his head. “I'm hot,” he says. 

Niall laughs and ruffles his hair. “You know what? Zayn knows this really good ice cream shop, if you ask him very nicely maybe he'll take us there.”

“Please Zayn, please!” Theo shouts and punches all of the air out of Niall's body when he starts jumping up and down on Niall's stomach. “Please, can we have ice cream?”

Zayn saves Niall by lifting Theo off him and smiles a little shyly. “If you want me to come with? Your uncle knows where the shop is, too, I took him there last week.”

“Nooo, come with!” Theo whines and Niall grins at Zayn, sitting up. 

“What he said.”

Theo is swinging excitedly between them, holding a hand each, on their way to get ice cream. He keeps running a few steps and then jumps, throwing his legs up as high as he can. “I can fly!” he shouts. “Look, uncle Niall!”

“Wow,” Niall says enthusiastically. “I've never seen anyone fly this high, Theo!”

“Really?” the four-year-old asks excitedly and twists his small body to look at Niall and Zayn. “Never?”

“Never,” Zayn assures him and Theo laughs, goes back to his game. 

Zayn turns to look at Niall and smiles - a new kind of smile Niall hasn't seen yet in the time they've dated, but one he likes. A lot. Niall smiles back, bites the corner of his mouth to contain it a little. 

The ice cream cones the three of them get a few minutes later are absolutely worth the mess Theo makes on his face and shirt while eating it. They're sat on the fancy white chairs the owners have put up outside of the shop with a view of the park, and Theo’s ice cream smears onto his nose and chin and somehow his cheeks too, and drips down on his shirt while Niall doesn't look. Zayn goes to fetch napkins once he's finished his cone and gives them to Niall who does his best to make Theo look presentable again. Whenever he thinks of kids in theory, he thinks he might like a couple with the right person but now, after a few hours with Theo, he's not so sure. Kids seem like a shitload of work. 

“Why don't I take Theo to the bathroom to wash our hands while you throw away the rubbish?” Zayn suggests, looking from the balled-up napkins on their table to Theo’s sticky hands, to Niall. 

“Good idea,” Niall sighs in relief and presses a brief kiss to Theo’s head. “Go wash your hands with Zayn, yeah?”

Zayn helps the little boy from his chair and holds out his own hand for the tiny sticky one without hesitation. Theo grabs it and Niall smiles, tilts his head back to smile up at Zayn. “You're good at this.”

“Shh,” Zayn makes and leans down to kiss him. “I have sisters.”

“Mm,” Niall hums and holds onto the collar of his t-shirt for a moment longer to kiss him again until Theo starts complaining loudly (“yucky!”) and pulls on Zayn's hand. 

Zayn grins and shrugs a little helplessly as he's being pulled away by a four-year-old and Niall waves at him with a grin. He sits for a minute, trying to get rid of the embarrassing smile that seems to be stuck on his face today, before he gets up to throw away the used napkins. When he heads back towards their table, an elderly lady stops him. “I know it’s none of my business,” she starts, “but I’m glad you’re allowed to marry these days.”

“Um,” Niall makes, “Sorry? Who?”

“I mean,” she says with a nod to...the bathroom? “I mean homosexuals. I just saw you and your little family over there and it made me really happy. You got lucky with those two, didn’t you?”

Most of the time, comments on “the homosexuals” or “you gays” make Niall either want to punch someone or scoff and turn around at the very least but even if this lady sort of makes him uncomfortable, she probably means it in a nice way. He’s also too distracted by the idea of Zayn and Theo being his family to do much more than give her a smile and an absent minded “Thanks”. Not that he wants a family with Zayn. Not right away.

Zayn and Theo choose that exact moment to get back, Niall's nephew is sat on his boyfriend’s shoulders and looks like he couldn't be happier. 

“Oh, god,” Niall groans quietly because. This is crazy, but he thinks he might still want this in a year, in five, ten. He’s not gonna tell Zayn, there’s no reason to freak him out. But he’ll wait and if things go well, he’ll let him know one day in the future.

“Everything okay?” Zayn asks, easily lifting Theo off his shoulders. There must be quite some strength in his wiry arms. 

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Niall says, trying to hide the fact he's having some sort of existential crisis. He's gotten rid of the childish idea of eternal love and whatever years ago, and love doesn't happen this quickly either, dammit! Yeah, Zayn is pretty great to spend time with - funny, smart, caring and attentive - and ridiculously handsome, an amazing kisser as well, but that doesn't mean Niall  _ loves _ him. Not yet, for sure. 

“Yeah?” Zayn looks a little sceptical and Niall is almost thankful when Theo chooses that moment to get impatient and starts asking about what they're gonna do next. 

Niall turns to his nephew and gives him a smile, not looking at Zayn works quite well for him right now. “Well, buddy, that depends on what you want to do next. Footie? Feeding the ducks? Going to the playground?”

Theo hesitates for a second, then yells “Duckies!” and starts pulling on Niall's hand. 

Niall laughs a little and shakes his head, then turns to Zayn to ask, “you coming?”

For some reason, Zayn looks surprised to be asked along yet again, but a smile spreads on his face soon enough. “Sure.”

The duck pond is a few minutes walk away and Niall spends the time explaining to Theo why it's bad to feed bread to the ducks, that fruit and the food being sold at the machine close to the pond is a lot better for them. They buy a small bag of that as they pass the machine and Niall kneels down in front of Theo. “Listen, buddy,” he says. “Once the ducks show up, I want you to only give them goodies on land, alright? Throwing food in the pond is bad, and the ducks wouldn't be able to live there anymore and would have to move away, you know?” Theo nods with wide eyes. “They'll make a lot of noise too, but don't be scared. They're just excited to see you!”

“Okay,” Theo mumbles, looking intimidated, and Niall smiles, kisses his forehead. 

“Don't worry, you'll love it,” Zayn says from the side and Theo turns to look at him. “You'll be the best duck feeder in all of London.”

It's the right thing to say, apparently, because Theo looks optimistic again and demands to be taken to the pond. When the ducks spot them and come running, he does exactly as Niall told him, keeps his cool and doesn't throw any food in the water. 

“You're good at this, too,” Zayn says in Niall's ear, slipping a hand around his hips. 

Niall smiles and leans into him. “Theo’s an easy kid,” he shrugs. 

“And believes every word you say. I think you're his hero.”

Niall shrugs again and leans down to rest on Zayn’s shoulder. “Can’t teach him early enough how to treat the environment.”

It’s not easy tearing Theo away from the duck pond later, and after they stop at the playground, where the boy immediately makes friends to run around with, too, he can barely keep his eyes open. Niall and Zayn take turns carrying him back to Niall’s dorm room, where Zayn tries to distract Niall’s nephew from sleep while Niall reheats some of the dinner Denise prepared for Theo in the community kitchen. 

Theo almost falls asleep over it but seems to enjoy his dinner otherwise and Niall sends Greg a photo of Zayn and Theo at the kitchen table to update him and let him know that everything is fine.

_ Playing family with a boy? ;) _ , Greg texts back.  _ Have fun and give Theo a kiss from Denise & I _ .

Niall doesn’t bother replying to that, hopes his blush isn’t too evident when he looks up from his phone. He’s not “playing family”, anyway. So what if they ran into Zayn and then spent the whole day together. It was a coincidence, though a lucky one.

“Your mam and da say goodnight, Theo,” he informs his nephew. “You ready for bed?”

As reply, Theo yawns, last bite still in his mouth, half-chewed. Niall and Zayn grimace at each other and then grin.

“Right,” Zayn says. “I can take care of the dishes? If you wanna get Theo ready for bed.”

“Are you gonna be here in the morning, Zayn?” Theo asks as he slides off the chair.

Niall looks at Zayn and shrugs a little, gives him a half smile. “If you want? I’d love for you to stay.”

“Me too!” Theo pipes up, making Zayn laugh.

“Okay, yeah,” he says. “I’ll be there. Don’t have any plans yet anyway.”

Theo cheers but yawns again in the middle of it, swaying a little so Niall places a steadying hand on his back. 

“Right, buddy, we better get you into bed quickly.”

“Goodnight, little man,” Zayn says and Theo blows him an adorable little kiss that makes Zayn's whole face go soft. Niall tries very hard not to swoon and grabs Theo’s hand, leading him to his room. 

He helps his nephew brush his teeth and checks the bed him and Greg made up in the morning, fluffing the pillow and shaking out the duvet. Theo crawls into the bed without fussing, his eyes almost closed already. 

Niall sits with him until his breath evens out, then kisses his forehead and slips out of the room carefully. 

When he gets back to the kitchen, Zayn's been joined by two of Niall's dorm mates. They're six people sharing their kitchen, but Ellie and Louis are his favourites, they've grown from flatmates to real friends, and they've both met Zayn before. 

“Nialler, lad!” Louis exclaims when he spots Niall. “We found your boyfriend in the kitchen doing all the work, and then he told us you two’ve been babysitting all day. How come you've excluded me from this? You know I'm the baby whisperer.”

“Didn't think I needed one of those,” Niall says, moving to where Zayn's sat on one of the sofas and putting his hand on the back of his neck. Zayn smiles up at him. “‘sides, I’m not here to help you with your withdrawal.”

Louis gasps in mock shock. “I don't suffer from baby withdrawal!”

“Sure, love,” Ellie pipes up, patting Louis’ hand. “Niall, sit down and have a pint with us.”

They all have a beer bottle standing in front of them already, so Niall opens the fridge to get one for himself as well. When he moves back to sit next to Zayn, his boyfriend suddenly grabs him and pulls him down into his lap. Niall yelps in surprise but settles happily very quickly, smiling at Zayn. “Hi there.”

“Hey, babe,” Zayn smiles back, tongue pressing against his teeth. 

It's fucking cute and Niall jerks forward to kiss him kind of abruptly, but Zayn still catches him, hand on the back of his head and holding him steady, calm. Niall's thumb rubs at the shell of Zayn's ear and slides back into his hair, and he's just about to lose himself in it completely when Louis clears his throat loudly and Ellie coughs out a laugh. 

Zayn pulls back quickly, startled, but Niall holds his head in place and pecks his lips a couple times more before he finally pulls back with a glare in the direction of his friends. 

“Not to ruin the mood,” Ellie starts, but Louis interrupts her. 

“Yes to ruin the mood! I didn't come here to watch you two snog.”

“It's not like I invited you or anything,” Niall gripes, and Zayn laughs a “babe” into his shoulder. 

“Okay, lover boy,” Louis cackles. “Settle down, now.”

Niall rolls his eyes and reaches for his beer. Louis is like a big brother, always knows how to annoy him best. Zayn rubs a hand up and down his spine and starts a conversation on something that Niall's not really paying attention to with Ellie until Louis and Niall stop glaring at each other across the table and make up. 

When Zayn and Niall sneak into Niall's room much later, they're both a little tipsy and giggly, but trying their best not to wake Theo. Theo doesn't stir as they brush their teeth and strip down to their pants, only light coming from the little nightlight by the door that Greg and Denise had instructed Niall to plug in. 

Niall's dorm bed really isn't cut out to hold two people but neither of them have a problem wrapping themselves around each other. Niall slips between the sheets, pushes one of his knees between Zayn's and pulls him even closer by the waist. Zayn’s lips are pressed against his shoulder and Niall runs a hand down Zayn’s side, whispers, “I had a really good time today.”

Zayn kisses his shoulder, then his neck and finally the corner of his mouth before he says, “Yeah, me too. Really great, like.” He nudges his nose against Niall’s chin, then his nose and connects their lips with a soft push, leaves it up to Niall to deepen the kiss. They kiss lazily until Niall has to pull away to yawn and Zayn can’t keep his eyes open any longer.

Niall kisses his fluttering eyelashes very carefully and whispers, “G’night, petal.”

Zayn mashes his face against Niall’s shoulder again, mumbles “Night, love you,” and is asleep in seconds. 

For Niall, it suddenly takes much longer to fall asleep and stop wondering if Zayn really meant that in his half asleep state. Because, if his reaction is anything to go by,  _ he  _ apparently is in love with Zayn already.

They’re woken up way too early by Theo who apparently wants to both have breakfast and go to the bathroom quite urgently. Niall still stares at Zayn for a few long moments as he slowly blinks awake, nerves and excitement immediately flowing back. As soon as Zayn’s eyes open fully, Niall turns his attention to Theo, pulls on a t-shirt and takes the little boy to the bathroom before heading to the kitchen to get started on their breakfast.

He's scrambling eggs (the only way Theo likes them) when Zayn comes in, his smile looking a little nervous if that's not Niall projecting his own feelings. “Morning,” Zayn says. “Theo in the bath?”

“Yeah, I told him I was gonna get started on breakfast and he’d only get some if he washed his face properly.”

Zayn chuckles. “That sure is an incentive for you Horan boys.”

Niall grins. “The best, definitely.”

Zayn’s now leaning against the kitchen counter right next to the stove, watching as Niall pours the egg into a pan and scrambles it. “Hey,” he says, hand rubbing along his jaw nervously. “About last night, um…”

Niall freezes, then turns the stove off because he’s not about to burn the egg just because they’re apparently having this conversation now. “Yeah?”

“So…,” Zayn mutters. “I just...I did say what I said, yeah?”

Niall laughs nervously. “You’re not making sense, babe,” he says, then takes a deep breath. “You said...well, you said ‘love you’.”

Zayn hums, his gaze darting to Niall’s eyes and away again. “Um, I...I just wanted to say...uh, I meant it. Like, I didn’t mean to say it when I did, not yet, but yeah. I love you.”

Niall lets out the breath he was holding, reaches out to grip Zayn’s hip and rub his thumb against the pointy bone there. He can’t quite keep his smile contained. “I was scared you were gonna take it back,” he says and Zayn finally stops biting his lip nervously, shaking his head and smiling a little. 

“Nah,” he says. “Thought about it, cause it’s, like, a little early, but. It’s the truth, like.”

“Yeah,” Niall says, steps even closer, “I love you too.”

Zayn grins at that, big and bright, and slings both arms around Niall’s neck. “That definitely makes this less awkward.”

Niall barks out a laugh and kisses him once, quick, before pulling back again. “I didn’t realise until yesterday,” he admits. “But I think it’s been happening for a while now.”

Zayn rubs their noses together, presses his lips to Niall’s temple, his cheek, his chin, the corner of his mouth. “Love you,” he mumbles, and Niall’s heart jumps with it.

He twists so he’s got Zayn against the kitchen counter, connects their lips for real. Zayn’s arms tighten around him and Niall leans into his body, warm and soft and a little sleepy still, and thinks that this is something he wants to get used to.

“Yucky!” 

Niall and Zayn break apart, and there’s Theo stood in the doorway, covering his eyes. Niall laughs and Zayn buries his face in Niall’s shoulder for a moment before he pushes him away with a hand on his chest.

“Sorry, Theo,” he says, and Niall watches as he walks towards the little boy and extends his hand for him. “You can look again, the coast is clear.”

Theo lowers his hands from his eyes and grabs Zayn’s without hesitating. “Why do grown-ups like to kiss all the time?” he asks, and sounds so desperate that Niall has to bite his lip and turn back to the stove to hide his laughter.

“Maybe you’ll understand when you’re grown up, too,” Zayn says. “I like your uncle, and I like being close to him, and sometimes people like kissing other people to be close to them. If they don’t that’s fine too, though. If you don’t ever want to kiss anyone, that’s completely okay.”

Theo sighs so deeply Niall has to stifle his laughter again. “Good.”

“Whatever you want, Theo,” Zayn says and pats his head before he gets up again to set the table while Niall toasts them some bread and reheats the halfway made scrambled egg. He turns on the radio and Theo sits at the table, swinging his legs happily and sipping the orange juice Niall had put on the table for him.

Zayn dances around Niall to grab some forks and presses a kiss to Niall’s cheek as he does so. Niall smiles and Zayn hums to the music, the sun is shining in through the window and they’ve got a couple of hours until Greg and Denise will be there to pick up Theo.

Niall thinks the three of them could put on a movie and cuddle a little on his bed, have a proper lazy morning the way he loves them.

And then later on, maybe Zayn will want to get some food or ice cream again, or they’ll just keep cuddling without Theo in between them.

Zayn loves him. Life is good.


	7. we go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> niall gets set up to sing a karaoke song with a stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the problem with finishing old things is that i don’t remember if anyone prompted me with this and if so who it was, or why exactly they’re singing _summer nights_ of all songs but i thought it was funny so i left it :D the title is from another grease song, _we go together_

The thing is - Niall wasn't planning on singing at all. It's not that he doesn't like karaoke, he maybe even likes it a little too much, so he'll sign up for song after song after song and make his friends stay until closing instead of heading on to a club or a nice chill pub. So he decided to stay away from the mic for tonight, give others a chance and his friends the possibility to see something different than the interior of the karaoke bar. But then Laura gets him a Margarita instead of a pint for some reason and things start going downhill when Eoghan and Harry decide that, “actually, this is much more fun with cocktails”, and Niall's had four different sweet but very alcoholic drinks in less time than the same amount of beers would usually take him.

Literally everything is funny, even those really fucking old pictures of him mucking out a stable Natalia posted on his birthday and keeps showing around, and Niall is wiping tears from his eyes when a loud voice shouts, “Sorry to interrupt the party, but can anyone here sing?”

“Louis?” Willie asks, leaning past Niall to get a look at the lad standing in front of their table.

“Oh, hey Willie,” the guy says, reaching out to clasp Willies hand for a moment. “Didn't know you came here.”

“We know each other from work,” Willie explains to them, and Niall snorts out a laugh, tries to picture this guy in sweats working in a bank. Louis narrows his eyes at him but turns back to Willie when he keeps talking, “it's mostly my cousin dragging us here.” He claps a hand on Niall's shoulder and Niall looks up, protesting.

“Harry loves karaoke, too! And you never protest when I suggest coming here! Slander!”

Louis laughs at that and it makes Niall feel kind of accomplished, embarrassingly. Must be all the sugary alcohol racing through his blood.

“Anyway,” Louis says, “I only came here to look for a duet partner for my friend, any of you decent singers?”

“Niall,” says Harry, at the same time Niall says his name. Harry grins, shakes his head as if his hair was still long. “‘m way too drunk already, you do it.” He leans his head against Laura's shoulder, who pats his hair placatingly.

“Yeah, Nialler, you haven't sung at all today,” Eoghan pipes up.

“You're not ill, are ya?” Willie asks, places his hand on Niall's forehead as if to take his temperature.

Niall pushes his hand away irritably. It really isn’t his fault this time if they push him like this.  “Okay, I'll do it. What song are we singing?”

“ _Summer Nights_ from Grease,” Louis says, already pulling Niall up. “You can sing Danny if you want, Zayn’ll take Sandy.”

Niall stumbles after Louis, not sure how he’s managed to get himself into this situation, and then almost bumps into him when Louis stops in front of a small table in the corner, occupied by two guys.

“Found you a duet partner!” Louis announces, and Niall leans past him and waves. Silly. His hand freezes in mid-air when he gets a good look at the guy Louis seems to be talking to, because, damn. A face like his should come with a warning.

“Sorry about Louis,” he says, and his voice is smooth and soft like...butter, or something. Niall’s already inebriated brain feels a little like mush right now. “You don’t have to, if he forced you.”

“No,” Niall manages to get out. “I want to. I mean, if you want to.”

“Cool,” the guy says, downs the rest of his drink. “I’m Zayn. Let’s do this, like.”

“I’m Niall,” Niall says, and the second guy at the table reaches out to shake his hand.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Liam,” he says, and his smile is very nice, kind of soothing. Niall likes him immediately.

“Likewise, mate.”

And then the DJ says through the mic, “and up next, we have ‘Zayn and...someone else’. Says so on here, sounds mysterious. Come on up, you two!”

Zayn’s fingers wrap around Niall’s wrist and he startles a little because he hadn’t even noticed him getting up, but Zayn’s fingers are soft like his voice and feel cool and nice against Niall’s overheated skin.

Zayn doesn’t let go until they’ve reached the little stage, and the DJ turns around to give them the microphones. His eyes light up when he sees Niall, and he says, “Oh, it’s Niall! Was wondering where you were tonight, mate!”

“They know your name here?” Zayn asks, turning to Niall with an amused grin and raised eyebrows.

Niall blushes. “I’ve been here before...a couple of times.”

Zayn shakes his head, laughing. “Alright then. Louis told you I’d be singing Sandy’s part?”

Niall nods and takes a step up onto the stage. The audience seems a little blurry and he absently wonders just how drunk he is, when the first notes of _Summer Nights_ sound.

Niall has a second to question why they're singing this song considering they'll ideally need more than just two voices, but Danny - he - starts the song, so he just…starts singing. When Zayn joins in, Niall feels his mouth open in surprise. His voice doesn't sound like Sandy at all, but it's fucking beautiful. Not only as smooth as his talking voice, but also really strong and captivating enough Niall almost misses his cue. He vows to concentrate more and by the second refrain, he's completely forgotten how shitty it sounds when just him and Zayn sing the “tell me more, tell me more” part, leaving out the choir parts because the karaoke track has these weird backing vocals on it, and is completely in the zone. He's Danny and Zayn's Sandy, and Niall runs a hand through his hair like a real greaser.

Zayn grins at him through his singing and reaches out to smooth Niall's hair down where he's just mussed it up, and Niall's breath stutters embarrassingly into the microphone. Zayn's grin just widens and Niall is pretty sure his face is permanently stained red now.

He's not sure how he gets through the last lines of the song but he does, and when they finish the audience claps and whistles, and yep, Niall's blush is never gonna disappear.

Zayn takes him by the elbow as soon as they're down from the stage and leans in so Niall can hear him over the noise (and forgets to breathe). “Think we make quite a good duo. Can I buy you a drink?”

Probably a lot to eagerly, Niall nods too many times. “Yes, sure, thanks.”

Zayn laughs and wraps his fingers around Niall's wrist again to pull him to the bar. Harry, Laura and Natalia give him a very obvious thumbs up from their table as they pass them, and Louis - he and Liam seem to have migrated to their table as well - winks at him. Niall rolls his eyes at them.

Zayn orders two pints and Niall takes the cool bottle gratefully, tipping it a little towards Zayn.

“Cheers, I love you,” he says and then. Stops. What?

“Um,” Zayn says, and laughs. “Was gonna ask you on a date first, actually, but that's cool too.”

“Oh my god,” Niall groans, trying to hide his burning face behind his hands. “Sorry, I should...sorry, I have to go.”

Zayn grabs him by the elbow before Niall can bolt, and he stumbles a little when that knocks him off balance in his drunk state, which... _so_ doesn’t make this better.

“Wait, Niall,” Zayn says, and his hand steadies Niall before he drops it. “I just need to clear this up. Do you wanna leave because you’re embarrassed or because you don’t want to go out with me?”

Niall presses the cool beer bottle to the side of his face and shakes his head a little incredulously, tries to sober up a bit for this conversation. It seems important. “Why would I...who _wouldn’t_ wanna go out with you? I just don’t get why you’d want to go out with me after the shit I just pulled.”

Zayn laughs again, and man, it’s a really nice laugh. Niall is so screwed. “Happens to the best of us, mate. Who hasn’t called their teacher mum? I guess I just...wanna get to know you, away from all this.” He gestures a little, engulfing the stuffy pub, the noise and their friends watching them not so subtly from their table. He’s really cute, and Niall kind of wants to kiss him already. Even more, he wants sit down with him and find out every little thing about him.

“Yeah, okay,” Niall says, smiling at Zayn. “I’d like that.”

This time, when they head back to the table and their friends, Zayn’s fingers aren’t wrapped around Niall’s wrist anymore. Instead, they’re entwined with Niall’s. It feels like a beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just wanted to thank you all for the support, you’ve been so wonderful to me with your lovely comments and messages!!! without you guys i definitely wouldn’t be here writing, and i appreciate you so much ❤️❤️❤️ still not entirely confident about the things i’ve been putting out since i started writing again, but i’m getting there and i have your encouragement to thank for that!!! who knows, maybe i’ll even manage to write a proper fic again one of these days...


	8. [niall x shawn] fallingforyou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> niall and shawn on a little getaway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my wonderful friend kasia sent me an ask about [a picture shawn posted on instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BeJfX53nA1n/?taken-by=shawnmendes) and headcanoned a little hendes, so here i am turning it into a drabble.......

It’s quite the view, actually, when Niall steps outside their hotel room onto the balcony, but his stomach still swoops with fear when he thinks of the drop right behind Shawn. They’re on the fifth floor, that’s way too high to be sitting on the railing!

“Get down there babe,” he says, voice still a little rough from sleep, “you’re gonna fall.”

Shawn looks up from where he’d been plucking on the strings of his guitar with a frown on his face. “I’m not a baby, I can look out for myself.”

He looks like a painting, Niall can’t help but notice, in his checkered pyjama pants and with his ruffled hair, one lock falling almost into his eyes. Fondness rises in his chest at the way Shawn’s brows are drawn and he lifts his phone, swiping open the camera app.

“Stay like that,” he says quietly, bites his lip to keep from smiling. Shawn stays still for just long enough to take one pictures, but breaks out into a smile immediately after.

“Not mad anymore?” he asks, turning his body further in Niall’s direction. He’s still sat on the railing though, and that won’t do.

“Wasn’t mad,” Niall says and takes a few steps towards his boyfriend. “Just worried about you.”

“I’m not gonna fall, Niall,” Shawn whispers, but he sounds distracted, his eyes clearly on Niall’s mouth. Niall smirks and Shawn snorts. “Don’t be so smug. You haven’t gotten a good morning kiss either yet.”

“True,” Niall says, gently taking the guitar from Shawn’s lax hands and leaning it against the railing next to them. He slides his arms up Shawn’s arms, his firm, beautiful, strong arms, and cups his neck, leaning in close to murmur, “good morning, petal.”

Shawn huffs, his breath tingling on Niall’s lips and wraps his arms around Niall’s middle before crossing the last few inches between them. He tastes minty and Niall smiles against his lips, endeared by the thought they both took care to brush their teeth before this.

Gently, he lets his hand move from Shawn’s neck to his back, pulling just enough to get Shawn to move away from the railing.

He bites at Niall’s lip lightly, laughing a little. “That your plan all along?”

“Maybe,” Niall says, doesn’t move an inch away and he gets his way when Shawn deepens the kiss again. “The bed is still warm.”

“Hmm, is that so,” Shawn hums, and suddenly his hands are under Niall’s bum and he’s lifting him up as if that’s a thing one just does. Niall wraps his legs around Shawn’s hips, and okay, he knew Shawn was strong, but this is, like, really hot. 

Shawn carries him inside without being even a little bit winded, and drops Niall onto the bed before following, caging him in and grinning at Niall wickedly. 

“Got your way, huh?” he says and Niall doesn’t reply, just pulls Shawn in by the back of his neck. 

He got his way, Shawn’s in no danger to fall off the banister anymore, and now he’s gonna enjoy the rest of the weekend away with his boyfriend, in the best way possible.


End file.
